A bicycle on a roof and swearing on a car don’t seem out of place at all.

Vintage objects can be seen in various shops and cafes; either for sale or as part of the furniture.

The pace of life in the town also lends itself to the calm, thoughtful process of manual focus photography, and my best photography is always done when I’m by myself, with nobody making me feel hurried.

Of course, we’re not going to get sweeping landscape shots with a 55mm lens; not on a crop sensor Sony mirrorless camera.

But that wasn’t the idea.

Looking for other details was the aim, and using a vintage lens slows you down nicely to achieve that.

If you’d like to try yourself, a good place to start is with the 55mm Super-Takumars on eBay.

You can also find a great travel camera to shoot them on in the Sony mirrorless range here on Amazon.

Super-Takumar at the Pai riverside

Across a rickety bamboo bridge, a few guest houses offer riverside accommodation and more opportunities to sit on the floor around a fire with no shoes on.

I’ve never stayed in these places, having always stayed in town (usually at Mr. Jan’s), but I did go and take a look what photography was possible there in the daytime.

Again, the landscape shots aren’t going to be there.

But that’s okay.

It’s peaceful, tranquil, and a great place to kick back for an hour or two.

Or a few days.

Weeks even.

Street food in Pai town

Back in the town and later in the evening, the main streets become the nightly market, and the street food is a major draw.

The variety is impressive, and the crowds of people milling around matches this.

Of the three pictures I’m putting up here, I tried two of the foods.

The kebabs and tom yum peanuts were both pretty good.

The fish, unfortunately, just didn’t appeal.

Taking my time with my vintage lenses in and around Pai was a fine way to spend a couple of days.

The gallery here isn’t huge, but I think it shows a few things about the place.

It’s a backpackers’ haven, with scruffy bars, a bohemian feeling, highly accessible countryside, and cheap street food every single night.

It all adds up to a pretty good place to unwind, and also to do some vintage lens photography.

———

All the images here were shot with the vintage Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8 on a Sony mirrorless camera.

You can read my full review of this classic lens, or go get your own set-up today! You’ll need: